KINGSTON, R.I. – Despite jumping out to an early lead and taking a 41-30 advantage into halftime, the Cornell women's basketball team let the game slip away, falling to Central Connecticut State, 74-66, this afternoon at the URI Classic in Kingston, R.I.

Cornell (2-3) was led by Virginia McMunigal, who scored a season-high 15 points, thanks mostly to a 5-for-5 start, as she tallied the Big Red's first 13 points of the contest. Lauren Benson added 11 points, handed out six assists and grabbed five rebounds, while Shannan Scarselletta chipped in eight points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.

CCSU (2-3) was led by Shontice Simmons with 23 points, while Kerrianne Dugan and Justina Udenze registered 16 and 10 points, respectively. Leanne Crockett grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.

The Big Red shot 44.4 percent from the floor and finished the day with a 42.9 percent performance from 3-point range, after shooting 77.8 percent from beyond the arc in the first half. The Blue Devils shooting improved significantly in the second half as the team finished the day shooting 40 percent overall and 34.6 percent from 3-point range.

The Blue Devils held the significant 41-31 advantage on the boards and forced 15 Cornell turnovers with 10 steals.

Cornell jumped out to an early lead, connecting on 11 of its first 13 shots to build a 33-15 lead at the 8:37 mark.

The first 13 points came from McMunigal before Allie Fedorowicz hit a long two-pointer to make it a 15-5 game. The teams traded baskets on the next four possessions before a foul-line jumper from Allie Munson, followed by two free throws each from Munson and Susie Doyle pushed the Cornell lead to 25-11. Once again, the teams traded baskets, but the Big Red used its hot shooting to eventually push its lead to the largest of the game, 19 points, when a 3-pointer from Benson at the top of the key as the shot clock wound down made it a 36-17 game with 6:29 remaining in the half.  

The Blue Devils went on a 13-5 scoring run over the closing minutes of the opening period, but couldn't come within single-digits, as Cornell went into the intermission leading 41-30.

Cornell lost its shooting touch in the second half and went 2-for-8 from the floor in opening minutes as CCSU tied the score for the first time in the game, 49-49, with just under 11 minutes to play in the contest.

A layup by McMunigal ended the drought and returned the lead temporarily to the Big Red, but a pair of made free throws by Simmons knotted the game again at 51-51. A steal by Leanne Crockett led to a 3-pointer by Simmons on the other end to give the Blue Devils its first lead of the game, 54-51, at the 8:42 mark.

From there, Cornell would not regain the lead. The Big Red made it a one-point game when Allison Abt hit a 3-pointer from the corner to make it 57-56 with 6:54 to play, but the Blue Devils scored six unanswered points to build a seven-point cushion with less than five minutes remaining in the contest.

The Big Red remains in Rhode Island to compete in the second day of the URI Classic, as it takes on Bryant tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 29 at noon.